The Day We Met
by slefanitsa
Summary: AU. Ulquiorra worked in a 24 hours convenient store. There, he met a beautiful auburn-haired princess. He never fell in love before, but this time, will he fall for her?


_**Author's note**__: This is an AU Ulquiorra x Orihime (UlquiHime) fan fiction from Bleach series. The idea was great, but my muse didn't want to cooperate. I don't really like this fic tbh, because it seems to be forced or something. But please enjoy! Don't forget to comment! :)_

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Bleach and its characters. All characters belong to Tite Kubo. Lyrics used in this fan fiction belonged to SHINee from their Japanese single "Kiss Kiss Kiss"._

_**Characters**__: Ulquiorra Cifer, Inoue Orihime, Starrk, Harribel, Nnoitra._

_**POV**__: Ulquiorra Cifer_

* * *

**THE DAY WE MET**

* * *

Starting another day, Ulquiorra sat behind his desk while eyeing at some people from the monitor. It was his daily life, working in a convenient store as a part-time job worker. He lived by himself in a small apartment. He was a student who received a full scholarship at one of the most well known Art College in Japan.

It wasn't a different day from yesterday. He sat boringly while waiting for people to pay the bill. It was his shift to stay behind the cashier machine and it was not the thing that he liked. He preferred to help his boss, Starrk, to manage things in the storeroom. But today, he ended here behind the cashier machine, listening to Nnoitra babbling about this and that while trying to clean the floor without bothering the customers.

"Shut up…" Ulquiorra threw his icy glare at Nnoitra. He was tired enough after finishing a bunch of tasks at college and now he really did not want to hear something which was a complete bullshit from the fellow worker.

"Whoah… You look so bad today, Mr. Eyeliner!" Nnoitra grinned at him but he did not pay any mind to him, resting his head on the desk and hoping his friend would just keep in silence for a while.

"Oi, Ulquiorra! Help me a minute. Nnoitra, you can handle the cashier, can't you? Ah I know you can." Starrk said out loud from the back of the store.

Ulquiorra knew his boss would soon need him to manage their stocks in the storeroom. He stood up and walked to the storeroom, ignoring Nnoitra who still tried to tease him with his lame joke.

The storeroom was located behind the store, where it faced a small walkway which usually passed by high school students at this hour. Perhaps Ulquiorra did not notice—or rather being ignorant—that those girls who passed by always paid more attention at him if he was there helping his boss. He did not like high school students because he assumed they were pretty annoying. They squealed like crazy when they saw something interesting for them. For the raven haired-man, that was completely annoying.

Today was no different. He burst out the store and welcomed by a bunch of high school students—girls, mostly—who waved at him and tried to get his attention. As if his senses were not working, Ulquiorra ignored them and continued carrying some boxes from the truck into the storeroom.

"You should sometime show them your kindness, Ulquiorra," Starrk chuckled while taking the box from Ulquiorra's arms.

Even though Starrk was his boss, Ulquiorra preferred to stay in silence since he wasn't interested to start a new argument with him. Pointless and wasting his time. When he brought the last box into the store room, he saw Starrk quickly took it from him and smirked.

"Get back to the cashier, I believe those girls stop by to 'visit' you, haha…" He laughed softly.

"Tch," Ulquiorra walked back inside the shop and as he anticipated before, he saw some girls come in flock, buying some things—which he thought it was only their excuses to see him.

"Oi, dude, get back here, this is your shift!" Nnoitra yelled.

"I know." He replied dryly and the girls squealed as he walked toward the cashier. "Sheesh… Who do they think I am?" He murmured and sat back on the chair, resting his chin on the back of his palm as his elbow was rested on the desk.

His black hair fell on to his shoulder and his bangs covered his forehead. He had a perfect deep emerald orbs decorating his porcelain face—a pale emotionless face which never showed a smile even for once. He was not tall, only 169 centimeters. His body was slender, but somehow his appearance resembled a prince charming that would defeat every single woman's heart.

"Hey Orihime, do you know him?"

Ulquiorra heard a girl talked to her friend. Spontaneously the raven haired man glimpsed at the auburn haired girl who stood in front of the rack of candies. She giggled and shook her head lightly, telling her friend that she did not know the man they were talking about.

"_E-etto_... I don't know him, Tatsuki-chan..." The auburn haired woman replied. "B-but I think he is a good man! _E-etto_... W-why do you ask, Tatsuki-chan?" Her cheeks covered in a light pink as her lips curled into a pout.

"Nah... I'm just asking, I think you—"

Ulquiorra's eyes widened slightly, his mouth opened and his heart pounded faster. It was the first time for him to see a cute girl around here. Aside the fact that she was a mere high school student, Ulquiorra thought she was a bit special. He was not sure but he knew his cheeks heated up as he kept staring at the woman.

_Wait, what is her name?_ He tried to remember, but he found nothing in his mind. When the soft grey orbs realized that the green ones stared at them, Ulquiorra quickly looked away. He did not want the woman to realize that he was kept an eye on her.

"_A-ano_—" The auburn haired woman walked toward the cashier and put some packs of candy. "H-how much does it cost?" She blinked; her fingers were tucked on her skirt. Her expression somehow was shy when she looked at the man before her.

"Let me count it." Ulquiorra replied coldly. He did not understand why, but acting nice and friendly weren't his style at all.

"U-ul-qi-o-rra?"

Ulquiorra's gaze climbed up at the figure before him when someone tried to pronounce his name. "It is 'Ulquiorra'. _Ul-qui-o-rra_." He could not help but correcting her as she missed how to pronounce his name correctly.

"_A-ano_—" The blush on her cheeks looked more visible than before and her gaze was thrown somewhere else. "I—I'm sorry! I—I don't know how to pronounce your name, U-ulquiorra-kun!"

_Sheesh... She is no different than any other annoying girls._ Ulquiorra sighed, somehow he was disappointed at the facts which lied before him. He did not reply until he's done counting. When he handed a bag at the girl before him, his emerald eyes looking at the grey ones directly as he said coldly, "It's _Ulquiorra_. Please refrain yourself from referring to me with honorifics."

* * *

Another day had started. Ulquiorra grabbed his bag and ran in hurry because he's almost late to attend his class this morning. He ran to the subway, ignoring Starrk who waved at him in front of the convenient store. He had no time to show his boss some maner while he's in hurry. He needed to get to the station before he missed the train.

Now that he realized it was hard for him for staying far from his campus, Ulquiorra started considering to move near the campus. Perhaps it was a good idea, so he would not waste his time and energy. But there were also a lot of problems if he moved from his apartment. It was not that easy to get a nice, comfortable yet cheap boarding house near to his campus. It was also not that easy to get a part time job which was flexible with his schedule. Things were just in its proper time and place right now, it was difficult to rearrange everything.

He sighed.

"Oi," someone nudged on his side when the train stopped.

Ulquiorra stood up and looked at the woman who stood in front of him. A dark brown skinned woman with blonde hair smiled at him.

"Ulquiorra."

"Ha-haribbel-sensei?"

"You almost late this time. Were you so busy last night?" She laughed softly, patting his shoulder lightly. "Ah... perhaps you've found a girl you can date?"

"No." Ulquiorra replied dryly. "I was finishing my homework last night. And... I don't expect you will come late today."

They walked side by side and Harribel sighed. Today's morning class would be lectured by Harribel and Ulquiorra surprised that his sensei would come this late. But—came to think of it... when Harribel asked him if he had met a girl he could date, he did not know why the vision of the auburn haired woman crossing his mind. He simply brushed his thought away, not wanting to think about such annoying woman he did not want to date.

No, he did not want to go on a date that girl—nor the other girl he might ever meet in the future.

* * *

"_Ko-konbanwa_, Ulquiorra-kun!"

Ulquiorra turned around and his emerald eyes met the soft grey ones. The girl smiled at him, her greeting was always cheerful as usual—but still he did not like it when she called him with honorifics as if they were friends to begin with. Probably it was the second week after their first meet, and he knew the girl kept coming to the convenient store every time his shift came. Nnoitra told him that she never came when he did not work on the convenient store. It was every weekend.

"Good evening." He nodded and then returned his attention at the floor. He just tried to swept the floor silently and fast, so he could take a break and had his dinner before continuing his work until nine. Tomorrow was weekend so that he could take a walk and enjoy his leisure without being bothered by anyone else—not even this woman who acted a little bit awkward around him.

"Umh... I—I'm sorry!" She bowed. "I don't mean to bother you! _E-etto_—I will leave—"

"Can you please stop worrying over insignificant matters?" He did not know her name, well. He did not even bother asking her what her name was.

"I—I'm sorry..."

"It's fine." Ulquiorra sighed. "I am going to take my break. I hope you find what you are looking for."

The raven haired man walked to the back of the store. There was a small kitchen where the workers usually spent their break time to eat or just rest when they did not go out for it. And there he was not, eating his food, a cup of ramen which bought by Nnoitra. His fellow worker grinned while eating his ramen, tapping his finger on the table.

"It's been the second week. I think she likes you, Ulquiorra."

Ulquiorra did not reply, he was still enjoying his own food.

"It's your turn to show her that you like her as well," Nnoitra added.

"I do _not_ like her."

"Mah, I'm not sure. You're the one who blushed when the first time you met her!"

"I was not blushing. The temperature was hot that time." That was a bad excuse, to be honest. But Ulquiorra paid no mindabout it. He just wanted to finish his meal this time and got back to work. It was a bad idea for him to stay closer to Nnoitra because he knew he did not like his fellow worker. Just like that he never had any fond with any other of his friends at college.

"Hahahahaha! Just tell her already, that you want to go on a date with her!"

The emerald-eyed man stood up and glanced at the other coldly. "Thank you for the meal. I will get back to work now."

Now he started to contemplate at the other's words. Perhaps Nnoitra was right that he really had a fond toward the auburn haired woman. But however, he did not find any right excuse to like her. She was just another annoying girl like the other students from the same high school she came from.

But deep inside his heart, Ulquiorra could not help but hoping to see her everyday. It was just wrong. He did not want to fall in love no—

"Damn." He cursed lowly as his head began to spin around wildly.

* * *

"See you next week, Mr. Eyeliner! Have a nice weekend! Hahaha don't forget to ask her to go on a date tomorrow!"

Ulquiorra could hear Nnoitra's voice. That man was annoying. He walked back to his apartment. Today was a very busy day and what he wanted for now was a good rest on his comfortable bed. He really needed that more than everything. If possible, he also wanted a massage on his back.

His apartment was only few blocks from the convenient store, but it felt as if he should walk thousand miles from the convenient store to get to his apartment. His eyes gazed up, looking at the millions stars which decorated the night sky. It was beautiful—he could felt how it brought tranquility into his lonely heart.

It had been years that he stayed alone without knowing anything about his parents. He never had a real friend in his entire life. He was completely alone. Ulquiorra sighed again, clenched his fists and slightly hoped that he could have someone to share his thoughts and whatnot.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Ulquiorra snapped back into reallity when he heard someone screamed. It was a girl—in a night like this. It was not a good sign, and perhaps something bad was going on right now. He ran on the dimly lit road, trying to find the source of the scream. He needed more than twn minutes to find where the voice came from.

"What are you doing?" Ulquiorra asked, panting. He stood few meters away from someone who looked as if he was doing something to his prey. He wasn't sure who the girl was, but when the moon lit he rhair, his heart started pounding faster. That auburn-haired woman!

"None of your business, kid!"

"Let her go, or—"

"Or what?" The man stood up and walked toward the raven. Surely this culprit looked toughter than him. His stature was taller and more muscular that him, but Ulquiorra knew no fear.

"Or you will see the despair." He replied dryly and at the same time, he could feel a punch landed on his abs, sending him flying meters away before he landed back into the ground. Blood spitted out from his mouth.

"Hah! You big mouth!"

"Shut up. You are too noisy." Ulquiorra stood up and ran into the other, trying to punch but it just made him get another punch on his jaw. He fell into the ground and coughed. That was a hard punch and it made his head spinning. It was too hard. He did not know how to beat this man but—he needed save the woman.

"You will die." The muscular man landed a kick on his abs, making the raven groaned in pain.

"As if, you filthy human." He grabbed the man's leg and pulled him, making the other fell on the ground. He quickly stood up and kicked him on the chest. He kneeled down and punched him on the face rapidly. "You, you will die first—"

"U-ulquiorra-kun!"

The raven haired man turned around and found the girl shivered as she looked at him punching the man madly. He panted heavily and returned his gaze back at the man on the ground. He was already fallen unconscious. He betted his kick got him on his sensitive spot and he knew this man could not handle the pain.

"St-stop it..."

"I—" Ulquiorra did not know what to say. His emerald orbs looked at the woman regretfully. He walked toward the woman, he knew she would feel some fear after she saw him like that. "I'm sorry."

"A-arigatou!" The auburn haired woman unexpectedly saying thanks to the raven.

"What?" Ulquiorra looked at her in disbelief.

"Thank you for saving me, Ulquiorra-kun!" She tried to cover her chest. Ulquiorra just realized some of her buttons on her shirt were rid off from its place. Guessed that man trying to do something immoral toward this woman.

Ulquiorra was speechless, looking at the woman who was almost naked in front of him. "Wear this." He handed her his jacket and looked away, blushing.

"E-etto—T-thank you!" She was blushing. "O-oh! Ulquiorra-kun is bleeding!" She squealed, reaching at the pale-man's lips.

And for the third time in his entire life, Ulquiorra could not help but blushing. He did not know what kind of feeling he felt right now. But perhaps Nnoitra was right, he was in love with the girl, was he not? His eyes fixated at the soft grey eyes.

"A-ano—I'm sorry!" She bowed again. "A-ah! M-my name is Inoue Orihime! Thank you for saving me, Ulquiorra-kun!"

_Inoue Orihime... a girl who distracted my mind._

* * *

_So we met that day..._

_You still had an innocent look left, I can't forget the side view of you,_

_since the day I met you I haven't told you about my feelings,_

_But today I will tell you how I feel in my heart,_

_I'm always by your side,_

_I want to keep looking at you,_

_I wanna feel you more,_

_With innocent smile your voice always shines on me,_

_I'll keep looking after you,_

_I wanna hold you forever,_

_Always I'll be by your side,_

_Always I'll be by your side..._


End file.
